


Nuclear

by collatorsden_archivist



Category: Ashes to Ashes, Life on Mars & Related Fandoms, Life on Mars (UK)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Dark, F/M, Horror, Madness, R/NC-17 - Red Cortina, Time Period: 1973-1981 (Life on Mars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-04-07
Updated: 2008-04-07
Packaged: 2019-01-20 20:04:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12440619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/collatorsden_archivist/pseuds/collatorsden_archivist
Summary: And they all lived happily ever after.





	Nuclear

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Janni, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [the Collators' Den](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Collators%27_Den), which was moved to the AO3 to ensure access and longevity for the fanworks. I began importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in October 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [the Collators' Den collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/collatorsden/profile).

  
Author's notes: Set post-S2.08; spoilers through that point. Written for the "All Hallows' Eve" challenge at 1973flashfic.  


* * *

Once upon a time, there was a man called Sam Tyler. One day, he'd taken a leap of faith. This is his story.

******

She'd said "Stay here forever," and what he hadn't realised was, she _meant_ it.

 

 

Sam couldn't believe it. He was used to being damaged goods, far too damaged for a sweet girl like Annie to want to have any part in. Though perhaps it did make some sort of sense, after all. There was something vaguely Florence Nightingale-ish about her. 

 

 

Not like Maya. Well, some of the good parts, maybe. But Maya and Sam had always been a bit too similar for his tastes. Except for where they weren't, which just served to compound his irritation. It was all well and good when _he_ did certain things, but not when _she_ did the same. Or nearly the same. And then later when she wanted to talk about it, well, it was just grating really. He couldn't think of a better way to describe it than that. He sighed. It would never have worked out. 

 

 

_You keep telling yourself that, Sammy-boy,_ the voice in his head said. Sam winced and shook his head. Why was his internal monologue taking on Guv-isms?

 

 

But back to the matter in hand. Sam still couldn't believe his good luck. Annie was the girl of his dreams! She was (practically) perfect in every way, and what made it even _more_ perfect than could possibly be believed was that she wanted _him_! He grinned to himself, a sight that was very nearly frightening if he did it with teeth showing. He'd never get over some of the wonders of the universe.

 

 

So they'd gotten it all. They'd gone on a few cautious, fumbling dates, which were followed by cautious, fumbling kissing and later some cautious, fumbling sex. During which he was always on top, always calling the shots, always in charge. And under his ministrations (careful or otherwise), Annie always, ALWAYS came. Screaming his name, too. Sam was firmly in control in this scenario, and it was utterly perfect. It was what he'd always wanted. He couldn't have got a better present from jolly old St. Nick. 

 

 

After a certain and very appropriate amount of time, Sam and Annie did the proper thing and got married. Of course, this meant they had to look for a proper place to live, too; couldn't be living in Sam's grotty nasty flat after all, not with a new wife to look after. Annie's flat was a little better, but not by much. Besides which, a flat wasn't a place to raise a family. Nothing good ever came of living in a flat.

 

 

What they needed, Sam decided, was a nice little house. Didn't have to be large, but it had to look a certain way. And it definitely needed a nice garden, with a little fence round the perimeter. And room for herbs. He did enjoy cooking, after all. So he definitely needed an herb garden. 

 

 

After a bit of careful research, Sam finally found the perfect place for he and the new Mrs. Annie Tyler to live. Annie was ecstatic; who wouldn't be? The place was charming. A modest little cottage with a quaint look about it, white lace curtains, some nice shrubberies out front... it really was perfect. Best of all, Sam had discovered he'd had plenty of money for the down-payment just sitting in his bank account; after all, it hadn't been like he'd been spending any of his salary on accoutrements for his flat. He couldn't have asked for better. 

 

 

Sam thought about getting a little dog to keep watch. True, both he and Annie still worked in CID, and theoretically the fact it was two coppers living in the same house should have deterred a certain more cautious criminal element. But Sam was sure it was bound to attract still others who might view assaulting them as a bit of a challenge. Still, he hadn't quite gone through with it yet. He had the vague feeling something was missing from his perfect picture, although he wasn't quite sure exactly _what_.

 

 

Until the day he took Annie to the doctor, who later congratulated them on their test results coming back positive. Annie's face flushed and was utterly suffused with joy. They were going to be parents! Another thing Sam couldn't quite believe.

 

 

Of course, he immediately (though very quietly and gently) pressured Annie into resigning from the force. She needed to take care of herself, after all, and he was well capable of providing for them both. They had a nice nest egg built up, besides; now she could spend time doing fun things, like decorating. And needlework. And anything her heart desired so long as it mainly involved sitting at home and nursing the bun she'd now got in her oven. He brought her so many fruits and vegetables and sweets and delicacies and cooked such fantastic, loving meals for her that Annie couldn't believe her good luck, nor how she'd managed not to gain an astonishing amount of weight.

 

 

Whenever anyone talked to Sam for the next nine months, his face was glowing with happiness. He couldn't stop talking about his lovely wife and the lovely child they were going to have, to the point where it soon went from being charming and a nice change from his normal angsty face to being really quite annoying. Ray was quite sure that when Sam had photos to show, he was going to have to either transfer departments or quit entirely if he didn't want to face being banged up for obstructing his DI's annoying face.

 

 

And then the magical day arrived; as luck would have it, there had been no complications and everything was progressing perfectly normally. Sam and Annie were really going to be parents! It was hard to believe, but it was true. Sam stroked Annie's bulging belly lovingly. They had no idea whether they were going to have a little girl or a little boy, but Sam didn't care, and neither did Annie. Everything was working out perfectly. They'd even picked out perfect names: Ruth for a girl (after Sam's sainted mother, of course), and Sam for a boy; the reasoning being that Sam had worked out perfectly well for the father, so why shouldn't it work well for the son? To which Annie of course readily agreed. 

 

 

Sam had done a lot of reading and had even tried to take some classes on childbirth, which garnered some strange (and envious) looks from all the other mothers in the room when he showed up alongside Annie. None of their husbands were going along with them; just who did _she_ think she was, anyway? But he wanted everything to be perfect, so he was more than happy to get his hands dirty. Theoretically, anyway. 

 

 

Finally, the day arrived. Ever solicitous, Sam rushed Annie to hospital, overnight bag at the ready in the little Hillman Imp he'd got at a sensible price when it had been decommissioned from its former police duty. Tyres squealing, he executed a full panic stop outside the doors and escorted Annie inside, checked her in, and got her to delivery.

 

 

Through it all, he held her hand and counselled her on when to breathe and when to push. The attending doctor took a break, since everything was going as well as could be hoped and Sam was doing his job, anyway. 

 

 

Finally, after nearly 4 hours, out popped their baby. And cried. A perfectly formed little girl, ten fingers, ten toes, and a full head of hair! Gorgeous blue eyes, though a lot of babies were born with blue eyes and they only changed later. The hair might get darker, too; currently it was a nearly white shade of blonde, and quite long actually. 

 

 

Sam marvelled. And then promptly fainted a few moments later when his new, beautiful baby girl began talking to him.

 

 

"Now we'll be together forever, Sam. No matter what. I _AM_ your only friend, you know. I'm the only one who really understands you. And now I'm all yours! Or maybe you're all mine. I'm really not sure, maybe you can tell me?"

 

 

No-one else gave any sign of having heard any of this. The newborn Ruth Anne Tyler just wailed and wailed as she was swaddled up and placed in her exhausted mother's waiting arms. She couldn't wait till Sam woke up; she could tease him about fainting at the sight of blood.

 

 

Mother and baby both sighed contentedly. Such a happy family they'd be.


End file.
